It was necessary to stand in line for 1 and a half to 2 hours each day before the doors opened in order to obtain good seats with plenty of leg room. It sounds worse than it was, as good weather prevailed each day except for day 4, and it was nice to be outside. Of course, they were late opening the doors on day 4, which figures since it meant more time standing in cold, rainy conditions.
Director Danny Boyle is building a very impressive oeuvre, with the kind of flexibility that could eventually rank him with the likes of Howard Hawks. Millions is the second film of what might develop into Boyle's "money" trilogy. Shallow Grave was a lesson in how money corrupts. Millions looks at how money should be valued and debates social responsibity. And it does so in a fun way that kids would like. I do wonder about the selection of Millions as the free for kids matinee. The intensity level is raised quite a bit in the second half of the movie, and it might be too much for kids under 10, though the movie is rated PG.
The first reel of the film was not sent, so the DVD was projected for the first ten minutes or so. The DVD did not look half bad at a 250+ inch size, though the letterboxing was a bit disconcerting. I am sensing a pattern since this is the second time that a Fox film has not been sent to the festival in proper form.
Claire Dolan set a record for the number of sex scenes for an Eberfest entry. There was something incredibly unglamorous about those scenes, as the chores of prostitution became a trial in Lodge Kerrigan's somber film. For some people they were a trial to watch, considering the lukewarm applause at the end of the film. That, combined with the light applause for Kerrigan, really made me wonder about the festival audience. I can respect a filmmaker's work without necessarily liking it. Others evidently cannot. This was all the more noticeable when compared to the warm reception for the creator of Somebodies. Kerrigan's discussion with Ebert made it obvious that he is a director to be reckoned with, and I look forward to viewing Kerrigan's Keane and any future endeavors.
Junebug was almost saved by the performance of Amy Adams. It did not quite click for me, and I was bothered by the Huck Finn scene in the kitchen. The movie was interesting nonetheless. It is too bad that Amy Adams was unable to show, though I do not know how much she would have added to the conversation.
Director Terry Zwigoff put one over on Ebert. I think that Ebert thought that Zwigoff was bringing a cut of Bad Santa quite different from the theatrical or DVD version. Instead the differences were quite subtle. The major difference is apparently the ending, though the "happy" ending remains. The "new" ending was a few seconds showing the kid cleaning the blood spot on the sidewalk (left by Bad Santa when he fell after being shot) with a toilet brush.
In fact, I think that the version we saw is shorter than the DVD version. Weird, though the movie seemed better this time than when I watched the unrated version last Christmas Eve. The pacing certainly seemed better. Zwigoff hinted that this version would be released on DVD later this year.
There were two movies at the festival this year that were digitally projected: the horrible Somebodies, which looked like crap (it fit well with the movie), and Bad Santa, which looked incredible. I now have no doubt that every theater will eventually adopt digital projection, though cheapness on the part of the theater owners will make this slow to happen.
